I am a mom of 3 beautiful kids. Marley has autism and left hemiparesis Cerebral Palsy. Skylar has recovered from sensory processing disorder and my boy, Xander, is neurotypical with severe, life-threatening food allergies.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Kids change you.They
do.They make you love more, love
deeper, give more.They make you fear
the unknown and they bring out a part of you that you didn’t realize was
there.

But what happens when you realize that your perfect child
isn’t so perfect? He or she suddenly
isn’t doing the expected things.They
are no longer making eye contact or they are constantly ill.The dark circles under their eyes scares you
and they seem more content to play by themselves than with others.They may be constantly constipated or have
chronic loose stools.They can’t sit
still for more than a moment without some sort of high energy, colorful TV show
to keep them still.And even then, sometimes,
they just jump and watch.

You take them to your pediatrician who says, “let’s wait and
see” or“she is still young” or “boys
are rambunctious, it’s okay” or “lots of kids are constipated, it’s
normal.”You press on and take them to a
specialist, who tells you that your life will never be the same because “Your
child has Autism.He may never
talk.He will never be the same as other
kids.”Your heart is broken and you can
barely breathe. This is your baby.How
could this be?How could THIS be?

It is at this point that you have to make a decision.This is the turning point.This is the crossroad.Do you give your child the antipsychotic drug
that was prescribed to them by their prestigious doctor?Or do you search for other reasons for their
erratic behavior?Do you scour Google
for any and all things that are helping other children with autism?When you run across that article that says,
“My kid is better because I treated his GI symptoms!” what do you do?Do you say….but my doctor says that a GFCF
diet doesn’t work.Do you say it’s too
hard to try?

That is the thing that is different about Autism.If your child has cancer, there is a
protocol.You do A, B and C.But with Autism, it is go to Speech and
Occupational Therapy, take this drug and I’ll see you again in a year.What the hell?Really?It is left up to the parents to find your own way.And all kids with autism are different.They have different symptoms.Some may have Cerebral Folate
Deficiency.Some may have methylation
gene mutations.Some may have thyroid
problems or gastrointestinal problems. Some have food allergies.Some have eosinaphilic esophaghitis. Many have heavy metals in their bodies that
they cannot detoxify. And MOST have mitochondrial dysfunction, which makes them
very susceptible to toxins.

Our babies do not need anti-psychotic drugs…they need
medical intervention.They need to be
tested for all of these things and more.They need to be treated as sick children.Because truly….autism is a set of
behaviors.These behaviors are caused by
SOMETHING.And unfortunately, it is up
the parents to find out what.It is up to
us to coordinate several doctor visits and figure out where to send them.

Yes, kids change us.And being a parent of a child with Autism makes you a fighter.Because if you don’t fight for your child’s
health, no one will.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

I sometimes post pictures of our dinners on facebook. This last one got lots of recipe inquiries so I am posting it here for all you people who are looking for a great gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, soy free, delicious dinner idea.

AUTUMN SALAD

This recipe is easier than you think, super nutritious and delicious. This recipe was born when I had some friends coming for lunch that are on the Paleo diet. We liked it so much, we kept the recipe around!

Ingredients:

Roast Chicken - I usually put an organic, whole chicken in the crock pot with my favorite seasonings and let it cook on high, breast down for about 5 hours, then use some of that. But you can also buy a rotisserie chicken (just make sure it from a place like whole foods....you would not believe what most places put on their rotisserie chickens!) Or, you can just saute some boneless chicken in a pan, or grill some outside. I use about a pound. Or about 1 breast and 2 thighs.

**If you slow cook a whole, organic chicken, it is actually very budget friendly because you will only need about half of the chicken for your recipe. Pull the rest of the chicken off the bones and store in the fridge for another meal or a soup. Then leave the bones in the crock pot, add one onion...peeled and cut up loosely, a few peeled carrots, a few celery sticks, a bay leaf, and maybe some fresh thyme if you have it. Then fill to the top with filtered water. Cover, set on low and let it simmer over night. Strain it in the morning for a delicious, healthy broth for a soup....and now you are already half done with your dinner for next night! The options are endless for home-made broth! I just store the broth in the fridge until I'm ready to make my soup that night.

To make the salad: Simple pour the salad into a large bowl, then top with squash, broccoli and chicken. Then coat with your favorite balsamic dressing and toss. YUM!

1 cup of dry red wine - use one that you like because the flavor will be concentrated! I like cabernet sauvignon.
1/2 cup sugar
rind of one lemon - I use a microplane.
1 tsp ground cinnanmon
4 peeled and thinly sliced ripe Bosc pears

To make:

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine wine & sugar in a large skillet over medium heat and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Add the pears, lemon rind & cinnamon to the skillet and stir to coat, then simmer for about 15 minutes or until the pears are tender.

While the pears are simmering, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Then add the melted oil or soy-free buttery spread until the mixture is crumbly.

When pears are done, divide the pears into 5 or 6 , 6oz ramekins. Then top each ramekin with a little streusel topping and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes on a cookie sheet or until bubbly. Delicious!

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About Me

I am a mom on a mission to bring our daughter back to us from the grips of autism. This journey has shown me the importance of nutrition and supplementation in ASD kids, detoxification, green living and a great support system for healing. I have learned many lessons...some the hard way and I have created this blog to help anyone who may be interested in the lessons we have learned.